When comparing Polar M430 vs Garmin Forerunner 935, the Slant community recommends Polar M430 for most people. In the question“What are the best GPS sports watches?”Polar M430 is ranked 1st while Garmin Forerunner 935 is ranked 3rd. The most important reason people chose Polar M430 is:

Not only is this watch useful for running, you can leave it on for the whole day and it will monitor your sleep, give recommendations on training intensity as well as recovery, and keep your heart rate in check. With GPS off, it can work for 20 days, so you'll only have to take it off twice a month or so to recharge.

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Pros

Pro

It doubles as a great general-use fitness tracker

Not only is this watch useful for running, you can leave it on for the whole day and it will monitor your sleep, give recommendations on training intensity as well as recovery, and keep your heart rate in check. With GPS off, it can work for 20 days, so you'll only have to take it off twice a month or so to recharge.

Pro

It can track a variety of activities

Although this watch is targeted primarily at runners, you can also use it for biking, swimming, strength training, and many other indoor and outdoor activities that you can choose in the Polar app.

Pro

The price is very competitve

This watch offers great value for the money - usually, you have to be ready to pay $300 and more for a decent sports watch, but M430 does the same job and costs around $200.

Pro

It has one of the most precise on-wrist heart rate monitors

Even to date, the majority of sports watches don't offer particularly good hear rate tracking capabilities. You either have to buy an additional chest strap or rely on built-in sensors that are often imprecise. The M430 offers the best of the two worlds - you can get data nearly as precise as from a chest strap without having to buy and wear one.

Pro

It's great for people pursuing a lot of sports types

The Garmin Forerunner 935 will be a good option for a person who likes to try a lot of different activities, such as hiking, skiing, skydiving, rowing, and many more. It can track a vast number of in and outdoor activities and provide in-depth indicators that will help you adjust the intensity and timing of your workouts.

Pro

This is one of the best fitness trackers for triathletes

Among many other types of sports, the Forerunner 935 lets you track running, biking, and swimming. Better yet, you can combine the whole triathlon training session under a single workout - you don't even have to press a button to get accurate data from each activity.

Pro

Long battery life makes it a great option for hikers and marathon runners

If you're training for a marathon or are planning to go on a multiple-day hike, this is one of the best sports watches to have. It can last for full 24 hours with GPS on, while the majority of alternatives available on the market provide less than a half of that time.

Cons

Con

The software is somewhat limited

You are basically stuck with only three watch faces, which limits your ability to customize the watch for your particular needs and preferences.

Con

You'll have to rely solely on GPS for tracking

Overall, the tracking works well, but it would be much more reliable if the watch also had Glonass capabilities, in case you lose GPS signal.

Con

No music playback

This watch can neither store any music or control the playback from your phone.

Con

It's expensive

Although this watch has many advantages over the competition, it still remains very expensive. You can get a very good sports watch for about half the price of Forerunner 935, or even less.